- Call for proposals to host the fifth regional IGF in Latin America and the Caribbean

Call for proposals to host the fifth regional IGF in Latin America and the Caribbean

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By APC for APC

QUITO, Ecuador, 02 April 2012

Photo taken from the IGF in 2007, in Rio de Janeiro, BrazilThe Association for the Progress of Communications (APC), the NUPEF Institute, the Internet Society (ISOC) and the Regional Internet Address Registry for Latin America and the Caribbean (LACNIC) are pleased to announce the realization of the Fifth Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) to be held in August, September or October, 2012.

As in the four previous editions, the purpose of the meeting is to provide a space for multi-stakeholder political dialogue between governments, the private sector, the technical community, the academia, and civil society organizations. The region has made progress in understanding the challenges currently posed by internet governance and further debate will contribute to consolidate agendas, initiatives and policies to respond to regional priorities. The regional meeting on internet governance also points to broaden the region’s participation at the 2012 Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Likewise, as in previous editions, one of the meeting’s goals is to inform the region’s stakeholders on the issues and trends observed in the debates and discussions of the global IGF. The process of regionalizing the discussion around the agenda established by the IGF has been taking shape since 2008, when LACNIC, APC and NUPEF summoned the first preparatory meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean in Montevideo, Uruguay. The second preparatory meeting was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the third in Quito, Ecuador. In 2011, the preparatory meeting was held in Port Prince, in Trinidad y Tobago.
For the 2012 edition of this event, the group of organizers (a list that would increase its number) is seeking an organization able to host the Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Internet Governance Forum, which should happen in August or September.

1. Description of the process

The previous Latin American and the Caribbean Regional Preparatory Meetings for the Internet Governance Forum have gathered an average of 150 participants, and had the duration of 3 days. Since 2011 the agenda of the event is built openly, based on a public survey. The year, we expect to continue the efforts to shape the discussion agenda through open and public consultation and participation of the internet community and stakeholders. The group of organizers is responsible for the structuring of the open consultation, for the consolidation of the agenda and for the invitations of the panelists and moderators.

The hosting organization is responsible for the logistical aspects of the meeting – among them, choosing the venue, facilitating the hosting of participants in hotels, organizing translation, organizing the catering and producing the support and dissemination material for the meeting, in close articulation with the group of organizers. The hosting organization should also prepare and keep updated the event budget proposal.

The budget of the event is built along the preparation for the meeting, and the group of organizers engage in a coordinated effort of fundraising. Part of the budget is already guaranteed in the beginning of the process, but the total amount of resources available for the meeting is provisional – this leads to the need of a common commitment among all the organizations involved in the process to make decisions based on the optimization of available resources. The host organization is expected, therefore, for engaging in this process with this perspective of making the most effective use of financial and human assets.

2. Tasks to be accomplished

Develop a budget projection.

Work with the organizers in the election of the venue of the meeting.

Search for possible local funding sources and partnerships for supporting the event and making contacts in this regard.

Liaise with hotels near to the venue to negotiate hosting packages for the accommodation of participants.

Assist participants in the visa application process by preparing invitation letters and offering all the necessary information for the application process.

Coordinate the graphic production (printing) of support and dissemination material.

Supervise the logistics before and during the meeting.

Present a detailed accountability of expenditures and a report of activities after the event.

The hosting organization is expected to appoint a focal point or team leader who should interact regularly with the group of organizers and participate in coordination and planning meetings regularly.

3. Requisites

The host organization should be formally registered accordingly to any country’s legislation of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The host organization should be prepared to especially deal with the direct transfer of resources by the funder to contracted services or other beneficiaries – such as scholarships, per diems, etc. -, according to the funders’ and the organizers’ designations.

The host organization should have a proven experience in organizing events and working with different stakeholders (governments; civil society organizations; private sector).

The host organization should have a proven familiarity with the issue of internet governance.

4. How to submit a proposal

Interested organizations should submit the following, no later than 20 April, 2012:

A letter of expression of interest and a description of your qualifications (or the qualifications of the team of consultants) and how the tasks described above would be carried out.

A firm estimate of fees to be charged for organising the event.

A resume of the team leader who would be involved in the project.
Organizational website, emails, address and phone numbers.

Names and contacts of three organizations that can provide references, if needed.

Interviews with finalists will be held during the week of April 26th. The proposals should be submitted in a PDF document to llamados@lacigf.org